I thought to share greater detail about how it really feels to get inked since it’s still fresh in my memory.

Disclaimers:pain is subjective. My tattoo artist actually has a story of someone who walked out after getting his outline done. Different parts of the body also feel different, due to the situation of nerves, soft tissues and so on.

I’ve also fainted while getting inked (over an outline of a heart that took all of 5 minutes) Not sure I would say my tolerance is very high. Tip: make sure you have a good breakfast before getting your ink done to avoid fainting like a n00b (me)!

So here goes, with visuals and annotations all!

Pain is ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being snooze fest, 10 being I’m going through hell and looking at the door.

1. Getting small fine lines tattooed,
Pain scale: 1/10Pfft, these were nothing. I could have fallen asleep here.

Especially for the deep purple portion, it felt like that same cheap, plastic, rusty tool razing the surface of my skin repeatedly – abusing the same real estate of swollen, weeping skin over and over again. ;_;

Colouring needles are a little different and multi-pronged, which probably explains the shaver sensation. Here’s a picture (you’re welcome):

Of course he had to be inking with red in this photo. Photo credit: Annodyne / Reddit

4. Getting that tiny splash towards the spine done,
Pain scale: 9/10
I actually turned to my artist all crazy-eyed to exclaim WHAT WAS THAT?

This was cold, sharp pain, with a burning sensation that glowed in the aftermath.

It felt like ripping out tiny mushrooms that had suddenly taken root in my skin.

5. Getting tattooed on the collar bone,
Pain scale: 9/10
Holy. I swore out loud at this one.

Picture the biggest, baddest, fire-engine-red ant you can think of. And then BAM, that bad ass red ant from the lowest level of hell chomping down into your highly sensitive and very much feeling flesh.

The aftermathA tattoo is basically an open wound when it’s finished, and it certainly feels that way too.

When I eventually got up from the chair, all excited to have my first look in the mirror, the sudden movement opened up the wound in a new way that caused a wash of pain I didn’t expect – like skinned knees when you’ve fallen on the roughness of road tar.

The cold from the air-conditioner felt like salt water. My very first thought after viewing my new tattoo was dedicated to seriously contemplating not showering for a week. but hey. I love it!